I found myself making this Cajun chicken jambalaya after making the home made Cajun seasoning a few days ago. It was really yummy although a bit of a pain in the neck with the sauteing of the chicken….the oil kind of got everywhere…..oh well the end result was excellent so well worth all of the oil splatering :-)

This dish is extremely versatile, one of my favorite things. If you want you can add any other veggies, omit the chicken and perhaps make it with seafood or just simply keep it vegetarian by just adding veggies.

Now that I have home made Cajun seasoning I will be making this often varying the protein in the dish.

I hope you are having a good start of the year, until my next post…..

Enjoy!!

Here you can see the veggies, the chicken and the rice being mixed in right before adding the chicken stock. I first added about 5 cups of the chicken stock but found myself I had to still add at least one more cup for the rice to finish cooking!

This was my first serving and after feeding 4 1/2 people there were no leftovers :-)

I had my Cajun chicken jambalaya rice with a huge cup of Moscato wine….just my favorite wine since it is sweet ;-)

Cajun Chicken Jambalaya

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

6-8 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2-3 peppers. chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
1 lb chicken breast, pieces, I always use organic chicken
1 lb chicken sausage, chopped
2 cups whole grain or brown rice
2-3 tbsp Cajun spices
1 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes
5-6 cups chicken stock
2-3 green onions, optional
Pepper flakes, optional

 

Directions:

Over medium heat, heat the oil in a large pan and add the chicken and chicken sausage (the chicken sausage will cook rather fast so remove it from the pan after 2-3 minutes, just when you see that it has browned).

Keep cooking the chicken for another 2-3 minutes. Add the onion, chopped peppers, carrots and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the chopped can tomatoes and cook for another 1 minute.

Add the rice and stir. Add the Cajun spices and mix in well. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down to medium-low. (At this stage I added 5 cups of chicken stock but had to add another extra cup to cook the rice further)

Once the rice its almost cooked add the chicken sausage and finish cooking the rice, it took me about 30 minutes. Turn of heat and let the rice rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the green onions and pepper flakes if using.

The post Cajun Chicken Jambalaya appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Do you have any new year’s resolution goals? I have a few, and lets see if I can stick to them. So far so good!!

I have been wanting to make Cajun seasoning for the longest time and I really don’t know why I waited so long. I have seen many different variations so for now I just stuck with a basic one. Next time around I may add some coriander and cumin powder to see how it tastes.

I will be using this seasoning for rice, chicken, fish, pasta etc. I most likely will have a rice dish using this spice in the next couple of weeks. We eat a lot of rice dishes in my house so changing it up a bit with this home made Cajun seasoning sure it would be good.

Anyhow, I hope everyone had a great holiday season with family and friends.

Enjoy!!

Homemade cajun seasoning

Yield: 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons Himalayan salt
2.5 teaspoons garlic powder
3-4 teaspoons paprika, I like to do 4
1 teaspoon pepper, Next time I will do just 1/2 teaspoon to make less spice for the kids
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon oregano flakes
1/2 teaspoon oregano powder
1 teaspoon thyme powder

Directions:

Mix all spices together with a spoon until well blended. Store in a sealed airtight container.

Adapted from here

The post Homemade cajun seasoning appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

…and to top it all off this is just super simple, fast and again super versatile to whip together. My kind of dish ;-) You can also add sliced peppers, mushrooms, really what ever you would like. You can also make it with chicken instead if you prefer.

I just got some Cajun spice on a trip that we just took to Lancaster, PA… so glad I did and used it for this. It turned out superb!!

This dish has definitely become one of my favorite pasta dishes and will be in our menu often enough so that I can enjoy it plenty :-). You have to make this. If you like the Cajun flavor this is a must.

Anyhow, I won’t elaborate any further. If you try this cajun shrimp pasta recipe please let me know how you like it.

Enjoy!

This has become one of my favorite pastas. It is so simple, tasty and comforting. A must try pasta dish. Just make sure you use good quality Cajun spice, it really makes a huge difference, and if you like add more to the recipe. I normally do!!

Cajun shrimp pasta

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cooked shrimp, thawed and pat dried
• 2-3 teaspoons Cajun spice,  or more
• 1 lb bag whole wheat penne pasta.
• 4-5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large red onion, sliced
• 4-5 cups fresh spinach
• 3-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cups white wine, you can use vegetable stock instead
• 1-2 tsp arrowroot powder, or corn starch, depending on how thick you want the sauce
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp pepper flakes, optional
• Celtic salt to taste

 

Directions:

Cook pasta to aldente stage.

Meanwhile, In a large skillet, over medium to high heat place oil and cook onions for 3 minutes. Add garlic and Cajun spice and cook further for 1 minute. If adding pepper flakes do at this stage.

Turn the heat to high and add wine. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until wine has almost evaporated, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium and add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in cream and corn starch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water.

Heat through for a minute or so or until sauce starts to thicken. Turn off heat and add spinach. Spinach will wilt as its being tossed. Add salt to taste.

Add drained pasta and toss to combine.

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 6 servings

The post Cajun shrimp pasta appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.